When it comes to indulging in the ultimate beach vacation, Playas del Coco is one of the best places in Costa Rica to do so. At first glance, the beach may not be as impressive as Conchal or Flamingo, but what people don’t know is that right around the corner are stunning white sand beaches that you can have all to yourself.

The only way to enjoy these beaches if you don’t have a car or know where they are is to go boating in Playas del Coco, (read other reasons why you should go boating in Costa Rica). And you have to go with someone who truly knows the area and can show you to the best spots. The Gulf of Papagayo is huge and there are so many beaches tucked away in the hills that you can spend days exploring them all.

We’ve gone boating in Playas del Coco more times than I can remember and our favorite memories have always been with our friend Marcy, owner of Mystic Rides.

Boating in Playas del Coco with Mystic Rides

About Marcy

Marcy is a Costa Rican who has been living in Coco for over 20 years. He originally grew up Escazu but his outdoor loving parents took him and his siblings to the beaches in Guanacaste to camp every holiday and school break. 20+ years ago, there weren’t the amount of tourists in Coco like there is now, the road wasn’t paved and they enjoyed the pure beach life. It was these moments during his childhood that made him move to the coast and go out in the ocean as much as possible.

Fast forward to today, Marcy now owns his own boat company called Mystic Rides and has constructed a guest house on the 2nd floor of this home, offering rooms to visitors to enjoy the local life during their time in Coco. He surfs as much as he can, fishes when he gets a chance and takes people out on his boat so they can discover the tremendous beauty of the Papagayo Gulf.

Marcy’s Boat Trips

Marcy offers different types of boating in Playas del Coco tours. They are:

1. Boating: beach hopping, snorkeling
2. Fishing
3. Surfing

Boating/Beach Hopping/Snorkeling

Every time we go boating with Marcy, we have an amazing time. He’s taken us to some spots in the Gulf we’ve never seen and some beaches we’ve never heard of. His boat is fully equipped with 4-5 snorkel sets of different sizes and his cooler is always full of ice cold drinks.

You can ask him to take you to the best spots or he can take you to any spots you have in mind. I don’t remember the names of all the beaches and spots he’s taken us, but we’ve gone so far out we could see Witch’s Rock nearby.

Whenever we go out boating in Playas del Coco with Marcy we always see dolphins. Every time! And one time with my friends, he let the dolphins play in the waves of the boat so we got to see them super close (they were literally swimming underneath our feet). You can see in our short snorkeling video the various things we’ve seen while boating in Playas del Coco with Mystic Rides.

We didn’t get a chance to see them but Marcy will also take you to see the humpback whales when they’re in season.

And for a small extra charge, Marcy has a wakeboard he can bring if you’re interested. He can teach you too, he’s good at it!

Surfing

Marcy is a surf addict and goes out to 2 of the best spots in the area: Ollie’s Point and Witch’s Rock. Both spots are suitable for beginners and he checks the tide every day to see what time is the best to go according to the level of his clients.

Fishing

Marcy has the equipment for both in shore and off shore fishing along with jigging. The last couple times we went in shore fishing we caught a couple tuna. He’ll take you to catch fish like sail fish, tuna, snapper, grouper, rooster fish and mahi mahi.

His Guest House

The second floor of Marcy’s home consists of 4 separate guest rooms, each with their own bathroom and kitchen. You can comfortable sleep up to 5 -6 people in the rooms so this is a great option for groups and families. There is also a shared common area with tables, chairs and a hammock.

He currently has two listings up on Airbnb. One is for a private room and one is for a shared room. (But first, don’t forget to click here to get $20 Airbnb credit).

I highly recommend Marcy’s place if you:

• Want to experience local life. His home is located in the Tico neighborhood of Playas del Coco so there are only local families around. It’s on the 2nd floor of his home so you’ll meet his incredibly sweet family and they’ll tell you stories about Costa Rica 30 years ago. It’s fascinating to listen to!
• Want to stay out of noisy downtown. The area his house is located is quiet (save for the roosters) and peaceful. We spent a weekend there, laying on the hammock listening to the birds and rain.
• Are on a budget. His place is super affordable for Coco at $60 for the private room that holds up to 4 people. It’s also convenient since it has a kitchen and fridge so you don’t have to eat out all the time. If you’re a solo traveler, he charges $22 for a shared room with a fully furnished kitchen and fridge.
• Want to be close to town but not too close. It’s a 10 minute walk to Automercado and 15 to the bars and restaurants on main street.

Have an amazing time in Playas del Coco with Marcy

If you want to experience Playas del Coco with a local, check out Marcy’s tours and guest house. He can do one day boat tours or whole week surf and fishing trips, whatever you’re looking for he can accommodate. He’s fully insured, his boat is comfortable fitting up to 7 people and his experience and knowledge of these waters is priceless.

We love supporting local companies and businesses and when we were introduced to Marcy, we knew that he was one Tico we had to share with our readers. Experience the real pura vida when you go out on the waters with an ocean loving Costa Rican, trust me it’ll be a memorable day!

Watch our video below to meet Marcy and hear a bit more about his tours and what they’re like along with clips of his guest house.

Want to book a tour with Marcy? Contact us and we’ll help you arrange it! Please include your location, the date you’d like to go, the type of tour, half or full day and how many people so we can get you a quote right away.

Check out these other activities around Playas del Coco!

Sunset sailing

Congo Trail Canopy tour

Snuba